Residents urge council to hold city land for housing and raise concerns about Midtown Commons plan
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Summary
Several residents told the Missoula City Council on March 9 they want city-owned land retained for affordable housing, and neighborhood leaders raised environmental, traffic-safety and transparency concerns about the Midtown Commons development and MRA procurement.
Multiple members of the public used the March 9 Missoula City Council meeting to press the city on housing and development decisions tied to the Midtown Commons project.
Carrie Schreiber of the Southgate Triangle leadership team told council that about 50 residents attended a recent Midtown Commons meeting and raised five central concerns: the proposed park size, alignment of the plan with the Midtown master plan and the land-use plan, risk of displacement and gentrification, environmental impacts from removing trees and altering a lowland waterway that she described as riparian, and traffic-safety issues. "We've talked a lot about the park community neighborhood needs... All of the trees on this property are gonna be raised, and, the Lowland waterway... is riparian area," Schreiber said, urging a traffic study before phase 1 construction and more neighborhood-engaged planning.
Schreiber also questioned procurement transparency, saying MRA contracted with MEP to find a developer and that, "as far as we understand, they just presented 1 proposal, and that is to a company that is a donor to MEP," which she said is confusing for the public. The transcript contains no response from MRA or the council to that allegation during the March 9 meeting.
Barbara Polley (Urban Renewal District No. 3) asked for clear public information about who is responsible for moving an irrigation ditch and paying for environmental remediation tied to Midtown Commons, and she requested clarity on amounts set aside and the use of tax-increment revenues collected from District 3.
Suzette Dusseau urged the council to retain city-owned property proposed for sale and use it for affordable housing, citing a county housing study and arguing keeping land in public ownership can reduce the land-cost component that makes housing unaffordable.
None of the remarks prompted formal council action at the March 9 meeting; they were made during the public comment period. Council members did not vote or direct staff publicly on Midtown Commons during the session.
The council did not take immediate action on procurement or remediation questions at this meeting; residents said they expect clearer public answers at future meetings.